****16th September 2014: Please note that Community First Brierley Hill has now recommended all its allocated funds and so will not be taking any further applications.****

Community First is a government fund which is targeted at supporting voluntary groups in certain electoral wards across the country.

In Brierley Hill seven members of the public have come together to form the Community First Brierley Hill Panel. As a first step the panel came up with some aims for Brierley Hill:

To support improvements to the environment in the Brierley Hill area.

To support activities which enrich the lives of those most in need, in particular young people, the elderly and those with special needs.

To add value to the work of local individuals and qualifying organsizations by supportinga ctivities which:

Complement existing works

Plug gaps in the work already being undertaken in the community

Improve communications

Encourage participation in community activites

To support events which raise aspirations, inspire learning and celebrate our town and its heritage

*** Update*** At its March 2014 meeting the panel considered its priorities for 2014-2015, the last year of funding for Community First. It agreed:

It was felt that activities that left a longer term impact (such as the sustainability of a group, or equipment, or building repairs) should receive the highest priorities so that the Community First funding left some kind of legacy. It was felt that events which could not demonstrate this to the panels satisfaction should be considered for funding only towards the end of the year when it was clear how much funding was left.

Please note this when submitting your application.

***Further update*** CDF have now indicated that all applications must be submitted by the end of December 2014. This means applications will have to be submitted to the Brierley Hill panel by 11th November, a week prior to its final meeting of 2014 on 18th November.

Minutes if the meeting of Community First Brierley Hill held at St Michael’s Church, Brierley Hill on 16th September 2014 commencing at 7.00 pm. Present June Bowen, Rachel Harris, David Hoskin, Tom McCormack, Peter Plant, Tim Sunter Apologies Graham Hudson Minutes of the previous meeting The minutes of the previous meeting had been circulated and […]

You are invited to the next meeting of the Community First Brierley Hill Panel which will take place on Tuesday 16th September 2014 at St Michael’s Church, Brierley Hill. The meeting will commence at 7pm. The agenda for the meeting is: Apologies Minutes of the previous meeting Matters Arising 4 Correspondence Applications for funding grant […]

Minutes of the meeting of Community First Brierley Hill held on Tuesday 15th July 2014 at St Michael’s Church commencing at 7pm. Present David Hoskin, Peter Plant, Tim Sunter As there were only three members of the panel present the meeting was not quorate. However, in view of the fact that there were five applications […]

The next meeting of Community First Brierley Hill will take place on Tuesday, 15th July 2014. The meeting will start at 7pm and everyone is welcome to attend. The agenda for the meeting is: Apologies Minutes of the previous meeting Matters arising Correspondence Grant recommendations Grant availability Black Country Rebels Brierley Hill Project St Michael’s […]

The glorious 12th…12th of June that is. The day that the Brierley Hill in Bloom flowers were planted in their containers on the High Street. The sun shone, people smiled, traders took photos, students prided in their work- quite right too. One admirer said: “…it looks like someone cares…”. Other comments made me think: we are also a town which needs to believe in itself, both as individuals and as a community.

Community First Brierley Hill met on Tuesday 20th May. They recommended £2,500 of funding for the Young Leaders project based at the Storehouse in Albion Street, and asked for further information from three other groups about where the planned participants in proposed schemes lived.

You are cordially invited to the next meeting of the Community First Brierley Hill panel which will commence at 7pm on Tuesday 20th May 2014 at St Michael’s Church, Brierley Hill. Over £20,000 of grants for local groups available!!!

News has been received this morning from the Community Development Foundation regarding the time-table for the final year of Community First funding. This is set out in the table below, with the implications being that all applications must be received by 11th November 2014 so they can be circulated for the panel’s last meeting of 2014 scheduled for November 18th.

At its March meeting of the Community First panel Nine Locks Senior Citizens Social Group and St Paul’s Neighbourhood Learning Centre were recommended for grants of £957.50 and £2,250 respectively. Looking to its last year of funding the panel also agreed to prioritise projects which help to make organisations more sustainable. Read the minutes here.

Community First Brierley Hill is a cabinet office sponsored grant scheme covering Brierley Hill ward. The next meeting of the panel to consider grant applications is taking place on Tuesday 18th March at 7pm at St Michael’s Church, Bell Street South, Brierley Hill. All residents and stakeholders are welcome to attend.